The last enemy to be destroyed is death.
Parallel translations
- WEB The last enemy that will be abolished is death.
- KJV The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.
- NKJV The last enemy that will be destroyed is death.
- NASB The last enemy that will be abolished is death.
- NLT And the last enemy to be destroyed is death.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
The last enemy to be destroyed is death. It matters because Christ's victory will finally and fully abolish death itself.
Overview
Paul names death as the final foe that Christ will conquer. Already defeated in principle through the resurrection, death will be utterly abolished at the end. This promise crowns the believer's hope: the very enemy that ends earthly life will itself be done away with in Christ.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 8
- 2 Tim 1:10And now He has revealed this grace through the appearing of our Savior, Christ Jesus, who has abolished death and illuminated the way to life and immortality through the gospel,
- 1 Cor 15:55“Where, O Death, is your victory? Where, O Death, is your sting?”
- Rev 21:4‘He will wipe away every tear from their eyes,’ and there will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the former things have passed away.”
- Rev 20:14Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death—the lake of fire.
- Isa 25:8He will swallow up death forever. The Lord GOD will wipe away the tears from every face and remove the disgrace of His people from the whole earth. For the LORD has spoken.
- Heb 2:14Now since the children have flesh and blood, He too shared in their humanity, so that by His death He might destroy him who holds the power of death, that is, the devil,
- Luke 20:36In fact, they can no longer die, because they are like the angels. And since they are sons of the resurrection, they are sons of God.
- Hos 13:14I will ransom them from the power of Sheol; I will redeem them from Death. Where, O Death, are your plagues? Where, O Sheol, is your sting? Compassion is hidden from My eyes.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
Christ crucified is the wisdom and power of God; he is our Passover sacrificed for us, the firstfruits of resurrection, the foundation on which everything is built.
How 1 Corinthians 15:26 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.